Dye Day

Dyed a bunch of wool on Tuesday. Not as much as I would have liked to, but got quite a bit done nonetheless.

Getting out the essentials.

First up, was 1/2 yard of Blood Orange. I love this deep orangey-red color. It is an abrash formula, so I get lots of nice variation in shading.

Here's the finished product. Actually, a bit darker than photo shows.

This is pansy patch. Hard to tell it's purple! It's done over oatmeal, and comes out in purples and subtle greens. Part of this is going in my NY Beauty rug. I do wish it had come out in a stronger purple. May spot dye again with some of the purple I used from the formula.


Next up were batches of Williamsburg Blue and Desert Gem. The Williamsburg Blue comes from the old standby Prisms dye book. Prisms was one of the first dye books I used, and I learned a lot from their methods and formulas. Desert Gem is my own formula and starts with two cups of dye. In the pot, at this point, is the gold base. After the water cleared, I abrashed with a wine dye. Here is the result (see photo on right).

Got several other colors done and have two more spot dyes to work up on Friday. We are expecting 6-10 inches of snow tonight and into tomorrow, so dyeing will be a good way to pass the time. Certainly wish the weatherman was playing an April Fool's Day trick on us!

Looking inside the rug hooking files

My idea book also contains pages of swatches with formulas and dye books noted. I wish I had kept up with this practice. Each entry contains lots of information.


After a while, I just ripped off a small section of a dyed yard and tied the swatches altogether. I do have copious notes on my formulas in a special notebook. Of course that always needs updating. A Microsoft Word file on my computer is perhaps the best organized of all. I try to work on that every six months or so. Like any hobby, organization is key. With rug hooking, there are dyeing notes, wool (dyed and undyed) to put on shelves, leftover strips, and compiling wool for projects. Takes a lot of work even before you pick up the hook!


Another thing that I have in my idea notebook are copies of posts from the online hooking group called padula. I'm not sure they are even around any more, but there was always wonderful information being shared. Here is a "Dye Day" post by Richard LaBarge.


As I was looking through my idea book, I realized just how many things inspire us. I have photographs of nature (in particular, flowers), greeting cards, magazine articles and photos, newspaper clippings, sketches, tracings, etc. All of these remind me of the saying people use when talking about books: "So many books, so little time." Alas, "so many pattern ideas, so little time." Doesn't hurt to dream!

Notebook full of ideas!

Do you have a notebook filled with ideas for rug patterns and dye colors? I do, and I'm sure many of you do, too. My ideas are stuffed in old notebook from a long ago graphic arts seminar. I started out trying to organize with definite categories, and like most ideas, it worked for a while. Then I started shoving pictures and notes in it willy-nilly, telling myself I'd get back to it soon enough. The best laid plans!

Anyway, here is a peek into my stash of ideas. First up, the notebook!


Next, magazine clippings and greeting cards:

I love these clippings not only for their designs, but for color planning.

Next up, my sketches. Please excuse poor artistry! I have a sister who is an artist, and my father could also draw. Alas, I did not get that gene!


And lastly, more magazine clippings. These are some of my favorites.



More tomorrow.